Extensible buckle



E. NUKANEN EXTENSIBLE BUCKLE June 20, 1950 Filed sept. 11, 194e INVENTOR gwn/esi fn/$617227@ ATTORNEYS Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED vSTATES AOFFICE I 2,512,466 EXTENSIBLE BUCKLEv l ErnestNukanen, New York,v Applicafn September 11,1946, ser'ial'No.1 636,277

is that it can be adapted-foruse as a shoe buckle, belt buckle or in connection with any type of machine that demands an enclosed spring vmember.

vIt has many advantagesover the conventional belt -buckles that .have spring assemblies inthat l the spring mechanism is entirely concealed-in the buckle. This isa distinctladvantage over those springcassemblies that are merely covered by a flap of the belt or not concealed at all. Some4 of the conventional*y typenow in use do not protect the wearers clothes from the constant friction of the spring assembly against the clothing of the wearer. Due to the fact that my device is entirely enclosed, its outside construction is smooth, offering no sharp edges lor projections which would'cause excessive wearv or hardship on the wearers apparel.

yMy device is strongly constructed andthe vtype ofunique spring used 'has manyapparent'i'advantages over the coil springs which are ordinarily used with this conventional type of buckle.

In the event my invention is used in connection with machinery, it has the added feature of safety in that the spring mechanism is entirely enclosed, and should the spring break, it would be impossible for anyone to be injured due to flying parts. A further advantage of my device is that it is readily assembled and will be inexpensive to manufacture.

Other apparent advantages and unique features of my invention will be disclosed as I proceed with the description.

Referring to the drawings- Figure 1 shows a face view of my device in section.

Figure 2 shows a section view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a section view on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4.- shows a modification of the spring assembly as indicated on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows a horizontal section view through Figure 4 showing the complete assembly.

Figure 6 shows a modification of the spring assembly as indicated on line 3-3' of Figure 2.

,In Figure 1 I haveshowna face view of my device utilized as abelt .buckle I0. The housing II ofV the` belt buckle I0 is shown in its preferred form as approximately rectangular in shape. However, any desired shape orfconguration that is required maybe utilized. The housing II ordinarily wouldibeconstructed from metal. However, rplastics. or other vsimilar materials that would fulfill `the purposecould be used.A

The housing II is a hollowv structure completelyr closed except-for the slot 2-2 onfA its upper wall and,l openings 23 locatedV at the extreme ends of the side faces. The slot 22 guides the pin I4 which is' attached to the sliding plate I2 of the spring assembly. Theplate. I2 is freel to move lengthwise in the housing II, with its movement being controlled .by pin I4 which is afxed to the plate and extends through' the top of the housing- II. yThe longitudinal movement of the pin I4 is guided by slot 22 in the housing II.

As shown in Figure 3, the width of the plate I 2.-,is'slightly fless than the width of the inside of-the housing-I I so'that the plateisfree to move lengthwise within lthe housing II. v'fln-itsfpreferred forinthe plate I 2 is roughly squareyinshape and itslengtn is approximately `half thelength of the housing I I. The pin I 4 is aixed in the centerfnear one end of the plate. Extending from the corners of the opposite. end diagonally towardv ther-pinV I4 are -two 'angular cutouts I3. These cutouts I3 form the guides that control the movement of the spring I6. The spring memlber I6 consists of a section of spring steel or other similar material formed approximately in the shape of a triangle with one angle being cut off and the open ends 26 :being curved outwardly. The base of the spring 24 is held ilrmly in place through two pins I5 that prevent the base of the spring from longitudinal movement when the sliding plate I2 is moved. The legs 25 of the spring are positioned in the cutouts I3 and as the plate I2 is moved away from the base 24 of the spring I 6, the legs 25 of the spring are forced out, with the curved ends 26 of the spring I6 riding along the outer sides of the cutouts I3.

As soon as the tension has been removed, the spring I6 will pull the plate I2 back to its normal position.

As shown in Figure 2, the upper portion of the pin I4 is aiiixed to an upper plate I1. In the center of plate I1 is mounted a gripping member I9 with two upturned curved ends 21 over which the belt 20 is guided. The upturned ends 21 serve to grip the belt and prevent any lateral movement of the belt while being held by the buckle. At the opposite ends of the upper plate I'I are bars I8 and I8' bridging from one side of the plate I'I to the other side and leaving a space between the plate II and the bar I8 and between the plate I'I and the bar I8' for the belt 20. Normally the belt 2D would be directed in under bar I8 over the gripping member I9 and out under the opposite bar I8'. Once the. belt 20 has been firmly ,fastened in lplace around the wearers waist, any expansion will cause the upper plate II which is connected through the pin I4 to the sliding lower plate I2 to move in a direction,

against the pull of the spring I6, while the hcus ing II will move in the opposite direction.

As shown in Figure 2, one end ci the belt 120 is fastened to the left attachment 2l whose ends 28 are anchored in the housing II through openings 23.

In Figure 4 I have shown a modification of my device consisting of a housnglll anda slidable lower plate 40. The lower plate 40 is'slightly less in width than the housing and approximately the same length as the housing. One end of the plate 40 has a belt attachment 45 which is connected by two legs'46 to the opposite end of the plate which contacts the spring member 42. The spring member 42 isthe same type 'as previously described and is held in position by pin 44 held in apertures in the upper and lower walls of the housing. The legs of the springmember 42 are positioned in the diagonal cutouts 43 of the plate 40.

Figure 5 shows Va sectional view of Figure 4 showing the upper plate 41. Mounted on either side of the housing 4I are supports 48. Through the supports 48 is a rod 49 on which the upper plate 41 is pivoted. The belt is brought to the bucklel through one end under thebar 50 and over the gripping member 5I and out under vbar 5U'.

Figure 6 shows another modification of my device utilizing a different shaped spring. 'This modiication is used in conjunction with the same type of housing as shown in Figure 1 and the pin 54 is similar to pin --I4 in that the lower portion is attached to the sliding plate 53 and the upper portion to the upper plate. The unique feature of this modification is the structure ofthe spring 52 which, due to its unique shape, enables a spring slide in the space between said upper and lower housing walls, said lower plate being apertured to form angular cutouts, said cutouts converging toward each other at their inner ends, said spring member being substantially U-shaped and being fastened at its base to one end of the housing.

the legs of said spring being positioned in said cutouts, pin means connecting said upper and lower plates, the movement of said pin means being controlled by a slot out in the upper housing wall, and said upper plate being equipped with means for securing the belt.

2. A belt buckle 0r the like comprising a spring member, a housing having equidistant upper and lower walls,A an upper plate and a lower plate, the lower plate adapted to slide in the space between said upper and lower housing walls, said lower plate being formed with cutout portions convergingtoward their inner ends, said housing being equipped with means to secure a belt, said spring member being substantially Ushaped, the base of said spring being anchored to one end of said housing, the legs of said spring member being positioned in said cutouts, pin means connecting said upper plate to said lower plate through a slot in the upper wall of said housing, and gripping means on said upper plate for securing a belt.

ERNEST NUKANEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of vthis patent:

v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number OBrien June 4, i940 

